After watching Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Golden States Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the Warriors leading the series 2-1, the game did not go as planned for Golden State fans.
After the first two games with the Warriors winning be sizable leads, this series didn’t seem like it was going to be exciting at all. When Golden State previously played the Oklahoma City Thunder in the last round of the playoffs the games were intense, fast paced and exciting to watch for fans all over, while this series was starting out as Golden State just blowing the Cavs out. In Game 3, the Cavs couldn’t lose, and for as much as the odds were stacked against them, such as being down 2 games in the series, as well as losing Kevin Love to a concussion disabling him to play; the Cavs had the home court advantage and it seems that they used being down to their advantage.
From the jump, Cleveland came out ready to fight going on a 9-0 run in the first few minutes. Golden State looked shook early, and there was never really a point in the game where they looked composed, confident or hungry enough to fight back. The Cavs led by 20 at one point in the first quarter, which is not typical position for the 73-9 regular season Warrior team to be in. The game was pretty much over by the end of the third quarter when Lebron got on the floor for a loose ball, passed it to Kyrie and got up high over the rim for a huge dunk. The final score was 120-90. The numbers speak for themselves.
The Warriors were just out played from the start, they started out weak and no one stepped up to take control over the game. Kyrie Irving finished the night with 30 points, J.R. Smith finished with 20 points, and LeBron James finished with 32 points all while the infamous Splash Brothers of Steph Curry, after only scoring 2 points in the first half, and Klay Thompson on Golden State finished with a combined 29 points.
After watching the game and looking at the numbers, I still have complete confidence in the Warriors to win out this series. After battling to comeback and win their last series against the Thunder, who were led by the consistent and persistent Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, The Warriors have prepared and proven they are a good enough team to comeback from a loss.
The team as a whole is deep through its bench, and each night we see another player step up to lead the Warriors. With that being said, it is true that to win this series the Cavs are clearly not going to lay down and give up as easily as previously thought. Curry and Thompson need to be more consistent, because when they are playing their best and most confident basketball, their team rises to that standard.
The role players such as Livingston, Green and Iguodala need to come out strong on the defensive end to show that heart that has been incredible to watch all season. The Warriors have proven to be an incredible team all season and as long as they get their confidence back I believe they will earn another championship.
